


Distorted World

by Qem



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Chapter 15 Specials - Undistorted World, Chapter Related, Gen, Points of View
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 08:26:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2766335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qem/pseuds/Qem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matoba wasn’t lying. He really does admire Natori’s acting skills and the way that Natori’s never once bothered to try them on Matoba. It’s quite refreshing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distorted World

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tanktrilby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanktrilby/gifts).



_“Please excuse me”, Natori says, as politely as he ever does to Matoba. “I need to get back to the film crew.”_

_“Oh, of course, of course. You certainly wouldn’t want to hold up the art that’s being made - I’m quite the fan by the way, I make sure to watch every episode of your shows”, Matoba says with his very best 'light hearted grin'._

_There’s a moment of silence, where Matoba sees Natori’s eyebrow twitches, ever so slightly before Natori responds with a “I’m sure you do”, before he storms off to Matoba’s endless amusement._

_Matoba wasn’t lying. He really does admire Natori’s acting skills and the way that Natori’s never once bothered to try them on Matoba. It’s quite refreshing._

* * *

Matoba has a bad personality.

He'd like to think that maybe it has something to do with the way he's had to fend off being repeatedly attacked from a young age. Or possibly the way that combines with the way no one seems to understand him (he's feared by other exorcists, hunted by youkai and mocked by outsiders – the plebes that can't see the monsters out to attack).

Perhaps it is. Though if he's honest with himself, ultimately he’s pretty sure at least some of it comes down to being just twisted.

Still, even if he doesn't quite fit in, he still enjoys being at the exorcist gatherings, despite the way that it’s filled with people who alternate between hoping that their pandering will earn them a boon, people who despise his families success and make catty remarks within earshot (all deliberate, Matoba is sure, quite deliberate) and of course the way that it’s always full of disgusting ayakashi who have to be enslaved for a semblance of loyalty.

But being at these exorcist gatherings, it's useful to get a feel for the others in the field. Find things that you can use in the future. Such as gathering gossip, find out ways to make oneself a name, keep the Matoba clan strong. It’s particularly illuminating watching people come up the path. You get an idea of how people respond when they think there's less chance of being watched, and it's an excellent opportunity to observe and memorize the new faces one at a time. (It’s much harder to remember them well enough to recognise later on in the mundane world, when there are so many distractions around, once they've reached the house.)

Plus it's useful to get a feel for the way new faces approach. Some are apprentices taken under wing – useful as potential allies for the future, before they’ve been poisoned by some old fart's illogical politics. There are also some people who lack the sight, that try to make it, legacies from older families – families no longer blessed with the sight but desperate for help. They look frantic and count steps underneath their breath. He’s heard from his mother that there are often grand legacies of treasures to be found at their homes – treasures that they’re desperate to get rid of. Alternatively sometimes, there are people with the sight to stumble across events like this, despite not knowing much about the world of humans that deal with ayakashi. They're also usually more likely to be randomly powerful, than the dutiful first born son; in a family where the sight is dying out.

There's now a boy that's coming up the pathway, somewhat good looking, Matoba clinically assesses. Unfamiliar, young, no adult nearby; most likely to be new and he’s now getting close to the notoriously volatile youkai prone to attacking new comers. (It's why Matoba picked that spot after all.) Matoba positions himself in a better place to see.

It pays off, as the youkai lunges at the boy. Matoba is fascinated by how the boy's face never changes, although Matoba's not sure what he'll do to protect himself. He's either very powerful - enough that his arms will contain enough spiritual power to repel - simply by combining his will with his actions, or suicidally stupid.

Either way is sure to be entertaining to Matoba later on, so the decision to intervene is easy.

Although, once that first conversations over, he's still not sure which factor to bet on. Natori is powerful yes, but he’s probably not overwhelmingly so – people’s level of sight usually lines up reasonably well with their overall power to perform exorcisms. (Though there are the occasional exceptions, like that priest from the Doumeki shrine in Tokyo.) But Natori is obviously itching for a fight and well, Matoba can certainly help grant that wish. If it’s something he can use, why wouldn’t he help out? That he gets amusement from it, makes it all the better.

* * *

The boy stays and learns. He integrates himself with those that speak well about protecting others, and avoids those that bad mouth his clan name. He’s started to wear glasses too – it’s a good look on him, it frames his face nicely while emphasising his detached coolness, although Matoba thinks it’s more likely to be mimicking his mentor Takuma rather than a genuine visual aid.

Then Takuma through carelessness finds himself injured by an ayakashi out to attack exorcists – and Matoba can see a spark of inspiration, and is pretty sure that Natori’s found what he really wants to fight. The type of youkai Matoba hates the most, just he needs to be pushed a little in the right direction. Matoba can work with that. Not in a straight forward manner of course, after all where would the fun be in that?

Natori doesn’t disappoint in rising to the challenge.

* * *

Matoba was correct in that Natori is someone he can use. He’s self-determined, unwilling to change purely to please others – but still willing to work with people he dislikes, if it meets the more important goal.

He’s also the sort to take a draw as a loss, which is well, Matoba isn’t the type to turn down a win.

* * *

As the years pass Natori, Matoba finds is growing up to be more powerful and better looking than the potential Matoba thought he had. He’s slowly earning a good reputation amongst the exorcists, following the pathway that he’s chosen. Matoba gets a chance to confirm that the glasses are simply a way of distorting the world.

He's also turning out to be quite the actor, which Matoba never would have predicted – the emotions always seems so close to the surface. It’s true Natori isn’t so great with picking out his scripts - it tends to be rather tired and trite roles, but you can practically see the sparkles and never guess that a boy that's suicidally angry lurks within.

The contrast is just breathtaking and Matoba never gets tired of looking at it. It’s well worth the rather exorbitant DVD prices. (It’s too difficult to be consistent with watching television otherwise and Matoba has no intention of missing a single episode.)

(Is it wise to antagonise what's left of a great clan and a prominent exorcist in their own right? One of Matoba's aides once asks him. Wise, probably not. Entertaining, always.)

* * *

_Matoba once finds a book, that suggests that a certain type of ayakashi, can leave an element of a blessing in the shape of a lizard to help ward off harm. He spares a thought in memory of a boy that clutched his arm and says "it might be contagious" and then shrugs and moves on. It might be useful in the future, but it's irrelevant for now._


End file.
